Winter’s frigid temperatures may have you bundled up outside, but there’s plenty to explore inside museums across Illinois.
Choose your own adventure with exhibits that let you step out of the cold and into a whole new world.
Cloud Buster
Chicago Children’s Museum, Navy Pier
Ongoing
Designed by artist Kevin Winters, the Cloud Buster attraction is a climbable piece of artwork. The 37-foot structure is a larger-than-life jungle gym made of steel, wood, rope, acrylic and other materials. Climb to the top to see The Apartment—a kid-friendly penthouse designed to look like a real Chicago apartment.
Shedd Aquarium, Chicago
Ongoing
Ditch the ice and slush and dive under the sea at the Shedd Aquarium’s Wild Reef exhibit. Witness the singular beauty of vibrant coral, graceful sharks, and other animals while learning about each one’s role in the underwater ecosystem.
First in War: World War I
Cantigny First Division Museum, Wheaton
Ongoing
The gripping, First in War exhibit allows visitors to partake in powerful experiences such as “walking through a WWI trench, onto Omaha Beach and through the jungles of Vietnam.” Visitors also get the chance to learn about WWI through a detailed timeline, personal stories, galleries, and more.
Sue the T. rex
Field Museum, Chicago
Ongoing
Get to know one of the largest Tyrannosaurus rex specimens ever discovered: Sue! At 40.5 feet long and 13 feet tall at the hip, Sue is around 90% complete and is believed to have lived around 67 million years ago, making this towering dinosaur one of the most famous skeletons in the world.
Notes to Neurons
Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago
Ongoing
This new multimedia experience uses immersive audio, movement recognition, and other interactive technologies to immerse visitors on a journey to help them discover the role of music in their lives and the power it has with connecting us to one another.
The White House Years
Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, Springfield
Ongoing
This ongoing exhibit at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum traces Lincoln's presidency through the Civil War, emancipation, and a nation fighting to hold itself together.
Wintrust Chicago Gallery
American Writers Museum, Chicago
Ongoing
Welcome to the birthplace of realism — where Chicago writers turned everyday life into art. Step through the stories of poets, novelists, and journalists who found truth in the stockyards, the streets, and the people history overlooked.
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